A Loudoun County Public Schools spokesman accused of perjuring himself during a high-profile investigation into two sexual assaults was acquitted by a jury last Thursday in the latest development of the Northern Virginia school district's ongoing saga surrounding the incidents.
The Virginia special grand jury's probe commissioned by Attorney General Jason Miyares under the guidance of Gov. Glenn Youngkin, both Republicans, looked into Wayde Byard on a perjury charge alleging he had lied about his awareness of the district's first sexual assault incident when it happened in May 2021.
Byard said, while he wasn't surprised or elated about the outcome, he was relieved.
"I really feel like I can put things behind me. I don't know what my future will be. The future's day to day right now. My wife and I are gonna go to dinner. I'm gonna watch the Yankees game tonight. That's as far ahead as I thought. So I've learned to take things one day at a time," Byard told the media as he exited the courtroom, local ABC 7 news reported.
"I was a workaholic. I'll admit that. And for a workaholic, it's like having withdrawal when you have six months off. So I haven't figured that whole thing out. But today, I can't say I'm really happy because I expected this... and I felt confident in this. I felt confident in Judge Fleming. I felt confident watching the jury that there had been reached an impartial and fair verdict. And really, as far as like happiness or elation? No, I feel relieved, obviously."
The Associated Press said Byard told the grand jury that he became aware of the first incident in which a "gender fluid" student assaulted a female in the girls' restroom at Bridge High School after the perpetrator transferred to Broad Run High School and committed the second offense there.
ABC 7 reported that Byard's defense team attempted to portray him as the "fall guy" for the controversy that, like many others, have shrouded the district in chaos.
"I feel like maybe I was a stand-in for other LCPS employees," he said, according to AP. The outlet added that he is unsure of whether he will return to his job after being placed on unpaid leave since December.
The Attorney General's office maintained that Byard should be found guilty, though the outcome proved different.
Behind the hot-button case are the two incidents that took place in 2021, both caused by the same student but at two different LCPS schools. In June 2021, after the first incident, a father accused the district of covering up his daughter's sexual assault when a biological male, wearing a skirt, entered the girls' restroom and raped her.
Fox News Digital reached out to Loudoun County Public Schools for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
The Associated Press and Fox News' Landon Mion contributed to this report.
